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All posts for the month January, 2018

Yes, yes, I know. We’ve had some really nice days in the 50’s interspersed throughout this winter. Global Warming idiots are using these days as ‘proof’. Of course, they’re not counting the days so cold that they’ve dropped the average temperature calculations overall. No, why should they?

Sorry…digression.

So, what can we do to beat the dreaded ‘winter doldrums’?

Simply, lots of things.

You could start by watching (or re-watching) Ivarr Bergmann’s channel on YouTube. Start with his superb introduction to get your interest up or refresh your mindset. It’s a very nice dramatization that should have been made into a complete series. (Bergmann, maybe it could be finished?)

Escape and Evasion. The Evader, Parts 1 & 2.

From there, start with the series on ‘Kit‘ and see how his ideas match your own. What do you have that is as good or better than the examples he offers that others might want to use (please, feel free to post in the comments, or if you have a very detailed idea with instructions, send me an email, and maybe we can put it up as a stand alone post)?

Between videos, think about repacking your rucksack, inspecting all your kit, cleaning it, making sure it fits, making sure you haven’t over-packed and can actually carry what you pack, sharpening your knives, cleaning out the cobwebs in your repertoire of skill sets by practicing your basic knots, map and compass skills, waterproofing anything needing a reapplication of whatever you’re using, cleaning out your water carriers (bladders or canteens need cleaning on a regular basis), checking your foodstuffs you include in your ruck, etc.

All the above can be done at home; you can also restart your PT program (yes, of course, I understand the discipline everyone has and nobody EVER lets their PT program lapse….but for discussion’s sake, remember that if you WERE to restart it, don’t burn yourself out, and gradually get back to your standard routine…just sayin’)

Here’s something else you can do: Disassemble, inspect, and clean every single magazine you have, starting with your spares. Why? Once your spares are done, you load them with the inspected ammo you had in your ‘stand by’ magazines so you can clean your ‘stand by’s,’ which then become your spares, and voila! You’ve killed two birds with one stone!! Changing out your mags and cleaning them!!

Here’s a video on PMags for those that have them. No excuse not to clean ANY magazine!!

Don’t forget to, just for the hell of it, take that primary rifle out, break it down, and clean it again. Disassemble the bolt as far as your skills allow, wipe down, and reassemble. Same goes for pistols. Nothing says, “I know my weapons,” better than routine disassembly, wipe down, and reassembly that demonstrates an intimate familiarity with the system.

Here’s something that’d be fun when gathering with your : Without looking at either your rifle or pistol of choice, describe it’s Cycle of Operation in less than a minute, -5 points for each you miss.

Bottom line is there are many, many things we can all do to beat the Winter Doldrums. It’s up to us to shake off the lethargy so that when Spring arrives, we can hit the training path without skipping a beat!

This should be familiar to anyone with even passing familiarity of Western civilization.

Kipling’s wisdom applies as much today as it ever has. Antifa is locking horns with those that stand for civilization. Battles will be fought. Some will end in victory, others will have consequences we will not like. The more we stand up to the forces of anti-West and anti-Christianity, the louder and more violent those forces will become.

The assistant principal lost his head. Look how ridiculous he acts. The teens recording are cool as cucumbers. That assistant isn’t a man, in any sense of the word, and certainly not a Man of the West. He’s a parasite being exposed to the light.

We can’t change what is going to happen, what insane decisions and actions the Progressives and their fellow travelers will undertake. But we can decide how we will respond.

Decide now to meet these challenges with your head on, if you can rebuild when there’s nothing left but the will to hold on, if you can meet the forces of anti-civilizations and emerge with your head high regardless of the outcome, the West will be yours again, and you will be a Man of the West.

My buddy, Paul Sharp, of Straight-Blast Gym—Illinois, and proprietor of Sharp Defense, posted the following on Social Media:

“When people start talking about advanced techniques my eyes cross. There are no advanced techniques. There are fundamentals honed to perfection through conscious effort. Then there is the application of those fundamentals against ever increasing challenges. The mechanics don’t change, our understanding grows so we’re able to apply the technique against higher and higher levels of resistance. As we advance we face greater resistance and better opponents which causes our understanding of the hows, when’s and why’s to advance. The mechanics remain the same. We become advanced.

Sugar Ray Leonard’s jab wasn’t magically different. His ability to hit anyone he faced at a world class level with his jab was the difference between basic and advanced.

During his seminar JJ Machado taught us all the same guard recovery technique. A guard recovery technique I had been taught my first month of jiujitsu. His ability to apply that technique against the best grapplers in the world is the difference between basic and advanced.

Bruce Gray presented my duty pistol, (a DAO S&W 4586), from a duty rig and hit the A zone of a target that was 25 yards away in a little over 1 second. He used the same draw stroke, mount, and trigger press he had been teaching me. He didn’t teach an advanced drawstroke or trigger press. His ability to make hits in those times with less than optimal equipment was the advanced understanding and application of the technique.

The point is; there is no secret sauce aka advanced techniques. There is advanced application and there is only one way to get there. High level coaching, and practice.”

This is something I’ve discussed in rifle and pistol classes for a long time now.

One of the hardest things for me as a teacher is expressing to people that the “basics,” or “fundamentals” we are doing ARE the advanced, high-speed shit. I can demonstrate a drill, in exactly the way I showed the students how to do it, and explain, step-by-step that I am doing it exactly how I just demonstrated and explained it. Invariably, someone will then ask me to show them what I did different…

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Read the rest, here. And do your dry fire. The graphics below on proper sight alignment is a good indicator of what you’re doing if you’re not hitting your target properly.

Edge Pro has added some 1/2 inch wide stones in 220, 400, 600 and 1000 grit for ‘recurve knives and/or tantos’. I’ve got some on order and will post a review once I get them and get a chance to use on a couple. I’m thinking they’ll do very nicely. Also, on the Edge Pro web site (edgeprocinc.com), you can find some really good tips on sharpening smaller knifes or knives with a thumb bolt (like spring assisted knives). If you’ve not given this system serious consideration, you ought to.

Re-post by request. This system is worth the read and time. It’s been 13 months owning and using the Apex 4. In that time, I’ve added another grit of polishing tape to the kit (6000) for a really, really, really nice, although possibly into the realm of overkill, finish on any blade I feel needs it, and a couple of glass blanks, pictured here, for use with the tape. Makes a difference because the glass is, compared to the aluminum, perfectly flat without any minute ‘bumps’ that may cause an uneven polish with the tape. Bottom line is that you should save your pennies and get one.

Originally published 26 May 2015.

UPDATE: I’ve been using this system for 10 months nowalmost 3 years now, and every time I pull it out to either touch up a knife or put an edge on something I discover in my collection, I’m not disappointed. I’ve taken my Wall DTG knife into the bush and used it hard and had the edge still very sharp afterwards; resharpened it in less than 5 minutes. My CRKT m-16 stays razor sharp with the most minor touch ups (as I used it for anything from opening packages to cutting cardboard to whatever). This system has returned the best ROI of any system I’ve owned in the last 10 years for knife sharpening and edge maintenance.

In our quest for consistency in keeping our field and personal use knives razor sharp, DTG has owned several systems, ranging from the very inexpensive to the (so far) most expensive system we’ve found that provides a superb edge (which makes the outlay provide a superb ROI), the Edge Pro Apex 4 system.

In a nutshell, this is a great system for a NPT of up to 16 people, because it can handle all the work from edge maintenance to repairing damaged edges. (It’s so robust that I was able to modify a serrated knife to a plain edge knife in about 30 minutes – including final sharpening and polishing!) Now, obviously, this isn’t a ‘ruck system.’ I imagine it could be packed in a ruck and taken along if absolutely necessary (it’s light enough, that’s for sure; maybe 2.5 pounds for the basic kit), but it’s not a ‘bug out’ system. In the event my ‘SHTF’ knife started to show signs of becoming dull, I’d take the ceramic rod and handle with me, along with a different whet stone that was a water or dry use stone. There are some good ones out there for that, but for now, let’s look at this system.

First, the hard news: The Apex 4 set up which is pictured above, including the optional stone leveling kit, is right under $300. You could get away with going without the stone leveling kit for awhile, but it’s essential to extend the life of your stones when they start to show signs of curvature from use. So, yes, it’s expensive. The old saw, ‘you get what you pay for’ comes to mind, though. Invest once, and get the return on your investment you wanted in the first place!

Here’s what the Edge Pro folks say in describing the Apex 4:

“The Apex Model Edge Pro is a patented system that will sharpen any size or shape blade (up to 3 ½” wide), including serrated knives. Knives can be sharpened at exactly the same angle every time, making re-sharpening so fast you will never work with a dull blade again. Our water stones have been custom formulated to free you from messy, gummed-up oil stones. They last a long time and are inexpensive to replace. The Apex will remove far less metal than electric sharpeners or grinders, eliminating wavy edges and adding to the life and performance of your knives.

The Apex removes nicks and dings without distorting the knife edge. It creates no heat, preserving the temper of your knives. It sets up in seconds on any smooth surface. No power required and comes with a convenient carrying case. Requires no maintenance other than routine cleaning.

[Our] Patented Knife guide system does not clamp the blade, so you can sharpen any length or shape blade up to 3 ½” wide. Adjustable sharpening angles, from 10, 15, 18, 21, and 24 degrees and infinitely in between.

“The stone leveling kit is a 12” diameter, ¼” thick piece of glass, w/ rubber molding installed around the circumference. It comes with a ½ pound bag of 60 grit (coarse) silicon carbide. Use the stone leveling kit to resurface your sharpening stones after heavy use. By sprinkling about a ½ teaspoon of the silicon carbide on the stone leveling kit, and adding a little water, you can grind the high spots of the stone down until it is level again. Use the opposite side as a perfect surface for mounting your Professional or Apex model. The rubber guard will help contain metal shavings and deaden the sound created from leveling stones. “

Stone maintenance during sharpening is pretty easy: saturate the stone with purified water mixed with a drop or two of common dish soap (the dish soap makes cleaning the stones up much easier). Keep the water handy as you work, because the stones must stay wet.

Setting the angle for sharpening is pretty maintenance free, also, as the user manual/instructions demonstrate how to set the approximate angle for the type of knife you’re using, and also details how to find and use the factory edge as a guide in setting the proper angle for your particular knife. The methods are demonstrated on the included DVD which makes your first time using it much less worrisome. Once the angle is set properly (and the DVD will show you how to use a ‘Sharpie’ type marker to get it right very quickly), the grind is going to be very consistent and doesn’t require much more force than the weight of your hand on stone arm. Very user friendly and effective all the way around!

I wanted to put the system to the test quickly, so I brought out a couple older, not sharp ‘force multiplication’ knives I had to practice on. The first was an ‘Ek’ knock-off. Man, oh man, did the edge come to that blade quickly! About 15 minutes tops, and I went through the 220 to 600 grit before I started to polish the edges with the 1000 and 3000 grit tapes. The cutting edge is polished like a mirror!

So, after another experiment with a new, old stock Camillus version of the USMC Ka-Bar (famous for not being easy to put a good edge on) with the same results, I decided to finish up my Wall Model 18 pictured below. It was already shaving sharp, but I wanted to see if polishing the blade would make it ‘scary sharp’. I wasn’t disappointed.

I’m used to checking edges by shaving an arm for an inch or two; this time, when I laid the blade against my arm as per usual, something happened I didn’t expect. I drew blood. The weight of the blade on my arm at just a small fraction off for shaving was enough to instantly cut me! Ok, shave experiment concluded on THAT knife!

Here’s a few of the other knives I’ve finished the edge on: Buck 110, Case Stockman (Medium), Case ‘Hobo’, Case Folding Hunter, Ek (a real one, not the knock off), Wustof Kitchen knives (ranging from paring to meat carvers), and a few others.

I can only say that I have yet to find out the limits of this system. It’s worth the money, and once you master the simple techniques necessary to operate it, you’re going to have a system that will last you many, many years, whether SHTF or not. A nice bonus: Made in the USA. All you need is some water…

We’ve had a steady warming trend here. 52 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday, with just a bit of mist. As fortune would have it, my lack of scheduled meetings provided me a couple of hours for some PT. So…….a good ruck walk was in order to shake down old equipment (me) and see how I’d fare with 60 pounds and 4 miles.

Not bad. Fastest was 16.5 minutes; average was about 17 minutes, give or take.

No injuries, no flat tires, no broken straps, no funny looks…ok, maybe a few…and I had a good breeze out of the South and Southeast that gave me a nice cooling effect about half the time.

Today it’s supposed to drop back in the lower 30’s and dump a few more inches of snow on the area. Back to winter PT programs. Spring is coming. By May my goal is to be humping 80 pounds again for up to 10 miles. When I ruck, I go until the distance I’ve chosen is over. Minimal water and no rest. It’s a conditioning exercise. Actually helps with other PT, too. If you don’t have a program, get going and develop one.

So, you’ve decided that you have no other option than to bug out in winter weather. That means you’re going to have to shelter during rest. To do that, you need to understand what you need to do/have to stay alive without a fire if you’re not in a semi-secure (meaning remote where there’s a good chance nobody else who means you harm is located) area.

No fire?!?!?!?!

Yes, it can be done, and can be done quite handily. I know; for about 8 years (in my 50’s), I would go to a very, very cold forested area in a very, very northern area, and practice what I preach. So, that said, and, of course, YMMV, depending on where you are located. Fires are wonderful, and you should have them whenever you can, but sometimes they’re a distinct disadvantage, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you can be targeted by entities that do not have your interests in mind.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Win if you can, lose if you must, but by all means…..CHEAT!” Well, it applies here. Don’t think about doing the ‘Spartan Survival’ method – use anything you can to give yourself the edge of making it through and not losing strength and drive because of the cold.

First thing, besides what you’ve chosen as a winter sleeping bag, vapor barrier (that which you put on the ground under your sleeping mat), and sleeping mat is, simply, a wind tarp (basha, poncho, etc) and some 550 cord to lash it to whatever concealment you’re going to use.

Next, you need commercial hand warmers. Personally, I prefer the 12 hour models that are about 4X4 inches and are air activated. I carry about 2 dozen in my SHTF BOB for winter. Simply, once your shelter is built (a simple tarp shelter to keep the wind off you – wind will rob you of your body heat – tents SUCK because you’re blind and they hold moisture inside….), you set up your sleeping bag (vapor barrier, sleeping pad, and bag on top of all) and activate one hand warmer and toss it in the bag while you finish you’re other ‘camp chores’ (securing your equipment, camouflaging your position (no matter if you’re rural, sub-urban, or urban) and setting up for sleep time (security watch if you’ve got more than you – food (get some fuel in your furnace right before you go to sleep – you’ll stay warmer!), and elimination (you want to urinate as much as possible before you turn in…you do not want to get out of your bag before you have to because you’ll lose residual heat in your bag, and if it’s REALLY cold (Zero f or lower), you won’t get it back before you get up for your watch or for the day.

Bottom line is this: All you need is a wind break (a tarp will do nicely if you can set it up), a good sleep system, your personal sleeping clothes (clean socks, a good set of under armor/poly-pro long johns specifically for sleeping, a head covering (fleece cap w/face mask or similar), super light gloves (silk glove liners come to mind – I use them and they’re great!), and something to cover your gear.

Snow blindness is usually a temporary issue, but even so, becoming snow blind takes away any real ability to do what you need to do on bright winter, snow covered days, and if you’re thinking about what you’d do in the winter for SHTF, you want to take some simple steps to avoid it.

I had a case many years ago, because I thought I knew better than my NCO who told me to protect my eyes. Learning the hard way sometimes makes life impressions, and it did. So, what is snow blindness?

Basically, it’s when your cornea(s) get sunburned. And for the smart-asses out there, there’s no ‘eye sun screen lotion’ you can use….just sayin’. Symptoms include what’s on the image.

Simple solution to this issue: Always have either a pair of good, dark sunglasses, or a pair of Sun & Wind Goggles available. I carry a set in my winter ‘Get Home Bag’ along with other winter sundries, and they’re the best insurance policy I can think of. I like them because I wear glasses, and they fit over the glasses. Additionally, for the uninitiated, they have a clear lense you can use in hours of limited visibility to keep things from sticking you in the eye inadvertently (also a nice thing).

The best thing? They’re cheap. Surplus Sun & Wing Goggles go for as little as $6 a pair before shipping on eBay; most surplus stores have them for $20 or less (which is still a good deal), and they’ll last for years.

I have about 3 or 4 pair of the old style, and one of the new USGI style in ACU green/gray. They fit over my glasses, too, so they’re good to go.

There’s a whole raft of civilian models available, too, so you have more choices than you can shake a stick at. However, I’d say away from the really ‘cool’ looking reflective lenses IF your objective is for use during a ‘less than civil’ scenario.